Totally up to date

I have to take a few minutes to just REVEL in the fact that I'm totally up to date with photo printing.

This is one of the few areas of my life that is AMAZING right now and I'm going to enjoy it :) Thanks again to the good folk at Epson. #epsonmomsrock

I literally have to print 18 photos at the end of the month which is what I need to do every month to stay current: 

• 4 for the "baby book" which is an album for us of the babies 
• 4 of K for her book 
• 4 of C for his book 
• 6 Project Life for September 

Of course there are always my projects to do - gifts for friends, etc.

Add caption

only one card of journalling for Aug PL

just photos

If you look very closely especially at "my walkway" you'll see the colour started running out. Eileen had been warning me for a few days already but I didn't see any change in the print quality until these 6.

Eileen's the printer, by the way. I always get this image of a solid, no-nonsense girl when I hear the name Eileen, and at the same time, SUPER competent.

That's exactly what the printer was like. She diligently printed HUNDREDS of photos for me without complaint and got me up to date.

I would buy one in a heartbeat IF it was a tiny bit smaller. My house is a normal size for this area - 3 bed, 2 bath - which means we don't have extra space most of the time. However, I'm thinking about it. If I had a nice shelf where Eileen could live forever.... well now, we'd have some fun, wouldn't we?

The Epson L800 really was amazing - the print quality is outstanding and is photo lab worthy. My MIL thought I'd schlepped to the mall to print a few photos for her.

In typical nerdy fashion, I started calculating how much money I saved by having the use of the printer.

I spent R650 on photo paper and printed 652 photos (coincidence :)). Even with the 30% discount I get from my normal photo lab when I print over 100 photos at a time, I still saved R1689. YES. Isn't that amazing?!

The main things were the baby books from ages 2 - 4, and the combined album for that same period. And then Plett photos, birthday photos and my weird pics album. And then I played - I printed photos for all the frames I had lying around (the frames are still laying around in my study - one thing at a time), some for the granny and great-granny, and then it was time to update my August pics and the ink finally ran out while doing Project Life :) PERFECT timing.

I will say this - I do realise that I was on such a mission precisely because I had the two-week deadline so I did nothing much during that time but sort and print photos. Most nights even instead of reading or bothersome things like cooking :)

It was all worth it, wouldn't you agree?

Do you print photos?

PS Now that I'm up to date, I don't ever want to be behind again!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      #epsonmomsrock

I'm on a roll even though I look terrible!

Connor's baby book is now done too.



In the end, on this baby book project, I did the journals for both kids and I started their 200-photo photo albums intended for the toddler years.

I also did those year-at-a-glance photo frames which I'm too scared to hang because I have wild kids (the one canvas was in a different spot after nap time - or lack of it - today)...

And then, because I looked through about 2000 pics anyway, I also starred "together" pics, had those printed and last night I did that album.

It looks awesome. I'll take proper pics of everything when the light is good and I have time (probably only on the weekend).

I showed D everything and the first thing he says to me, "I can't believe I look so terrible". I said, "WE looked terrible" so he's a little depressed at how no-one threw us a lifeline or just told us we look terrible and perhaps offered babysitting so we could sleep for an afternoon. Ha! Hell will freeze over first.

Nevertheless, he did say, it must have taken you so long to do all of that. Um, yes. About 10 - 12 hours. Of course the worse part was choosing all the pics.

Were we the only ones who looked terrible in year 1 of our kids' lives?


Kendra asked D when they were looking through her book, "Daddy, why were you so tired?" and I gave him a warning look before he said, "taking care of kids is hard work" :)

PS I was already working on these baby books but I must tell you how my friend, Caren, inspired me yesterday. We went over for lunch and she showed me her kids' baby books (complete to 3 years old because I seem to remember party pics). Hers is a very simplified version - thickness and size of a photo book - which encompasses the first 5 years.

PPS I wish you could see my study - my box from work is here plus all these photo things are EVERYwhere. Also, I haven't even started April pics except to put them in folders.

How I know I'm really done aka the baby book project

On the way home from church, Connor says, "Mummy, my tummy needs some lunch RIGHT NOW" :) and then later....he brought me a "bead" from outside in the garden, "Mummy, I brought this for you but you mustn't lose this otherwise I won't give you another one" (this is me!)

BTW, the "bead" is a pellet from a gun. We have NEVER bought our kids those pellet guns but the previous kid who lived here 7.5 years ago used them. We're STILL finding them in the grass, etc. Yes.

Kendra goes to have a pee before naptime and finds the bath mat skew.

"Who moved this mat? I don't like it when it's not in front of the toilet" (said in her bossy little voice)

Okay then!

I finished Kendra's baby book last night.

I told you before that I was struggling but then I just thought, "stuff this" so instead of having 4 pics per month to make it fit into the 50-page photo journal, I just went through all the pics and starred any I liked. At the end I ended up with 118 pics plus two from the professional shoot.

Some months I had 3 and some I had 20.

It's all good. Why should I choose 4 if  I liked all 20? They go through some really cute phases - might as well enjoy them. (Kendra's was 4 months, Connor's was 8 months)

So I chose the photos that make me smile... mostly :) Because all those screaming pics of Kendra made me once and for all realise I am SOOOOO done!

I used both sides of the photo journal pages because if we wait for D to add journalling (it's sooooooo not my thing), we'll wait til Kendra's married one day.

So I was able to put birth to 9 months in the pink photo journal and then I just started the next 200-page album at 10 months.


And it's DONE!

Kendra - age 2.5 months actual age - two weeks adjusted age

I'm really, really proud of myself for letting go of perfectionism.

My goal is to get them all to age 4 in the rest of that 200-page album since I only started taking lots of photos when they were 2 years 5 months but if not, whatever. Perfectionism was crippling me and good thing I realised it so I could move ahead.

I picked up the rest of the photos (Connor's) on the way from church so I'm tackling that now.

these were the days when they'd fall asleep in the car and not wake when moved. This was at a friend's house

Anyway, these are two of my absolute favourite of Kendra's baby pics.

No surprise that they're both photos of her sleeping :)

I actually have a folder called "sleeping pics" - I need to take some more for that folder :)

What are you up to on this cold but beautiful Sunday afternoon?

Bits and bobs

Well, it's been pouring with rain for most of today. I love the cold and rain so I'm good (tea, soup, electric blankets, what's not to love?) but I wonder how I'll feel tomorrow morning when I have to go to weigh-less and gym.

The baby book project is about 80% complete. Pics are chosen - the last months were done when I got home from work today. By the way, the project totally didn't turn out as I expected but more on that in a later post. Now I have to get them printed (I'm expecting the printing to cost about R500), put them in the albums and then they'll be DONE!
 

Aside from the photo printing, I'm planning to ignore my salary for a week :) Let's see how that works out for me.

My first week on site at the client project was good. I had no clue what I was doing for the first day of major work (Tues) so I was a bit slow but I'm mostly caught up now. I love it though because I'm insanely curious and it's like detective work. I can't wait for next week to dig in some more :)

The only problem is the lack of internet. I haven't commented on any blogs (if you've received a comment from me, you were the lucky one to have me read your blog from my ipad while eating lunch) this week and I'm behind on my GR despite cutting down to about 75 blogs last weekend. The internet thing is not a bad thing, per se, because it's forcing me to keep focussed on my work. Anyway, thank you for your comments and for hanging in there!



We had a farewell for a team member today - an internal move like mine was. Went to a place in the middle of nowhere in town (actually near Arts on Main - looks very dodgy when you're driving around there...). Food was beautiful (I was going mmm throughout) and the team is really nice.

One of the girls told me she's looking for something else because this is not a job to have if you have a family due to the lack of flexibility. Hmmm. She also said she doesn't think I'll make it 2 years! She has just reached her 2-year tenure (that's inclusive of the 5 months maternity leave) and is actively looking.

Isn't that interesting?

After we were done, I was about 5 mins from home. AMAZING for Joburg. Which means I could finally go get my one headlight globe replaced. It hasn't been an issue since I almost never drive at night but now that it's getting dark before 6 it needed to be done.

First thing the kids said when I arrived home, "why are you home so early?" This was just after 4 pm.

All in all, it was a good week for me.

How about you?
 

Connor's cot turned coffee table :)

This weekend I have gym, weigh-less (hopefully I've lost some more weight due to only having soup tonight), friend date, church but nothing aside from that except the baby book project and the usual photos. Although I started another Sinead Moriarty last night because I'm tired of reading Grace for the good girl :)

What are you most looking forward to doing this weekend?
PS Some of you saw the welcome basket of flowers from my new team on Facebook and Instagram that first day. At the end of last week I brought them all home, put them into 5 vases and gave Nanny S one. These are the other 4.

I cracked

I cracked and bought another 4 baby books.

I was specifically looking for Twelve Hours Sleep in Twelve Weeks (or whatever it's called) and I eventually found another by the same author.... and then it said on Amazon "people who bought this also bought..." and before I knew it, I had 3 in my basket.

Then I wised up and looked on a local Amazon-type website, Kalahari.net and bought all of them through there.

So I should have my books in a week's time.

But then...

I went to buy Pampers. Oh, huge excitement - Connor is now in Pampers 3 (Kendra is still in Pampers 1 - but I don't complain as those packs are obviously cheaper).

And as I was standing in the queue to pay I happened to glance around and my eyes fell on Sleep Sense, the same authors of Baby Sense.

So I thought what the hell and threw it in too.

And just like that, my books on babies and sleeping DOUBLED!

(I'm going to jump into bed now and get reading :))